DINNER PARTY INTEL...

The topics you have to be able to discuss this week

1. Uber loses in France

The French government is entitled to bring criminal proceedings against local managers of Uber for running an illegal taxi service, an EU court has ruled. This is another legal setback for the Silicon Valley start-up, after the EU court of justice last year classified the company as a transport service rather than a digital one. This stripped it of protections against regulation that digital services enjoy under EU law.

The latest case is about unlicensed drivers for its Uberpop service, which has since been suspended in some cities.

2. Chickens on the blockchain

“There’s no question about it, blockchain will do for food traceability what the Internet did for communication,” Frank Yiannas, Walmart vicepresident for food safety says.

French grocery chain Carrefour SA is making this strange statement a reality: every chicken it sells under its house brand has its very own life story, thanks to blockchain software, Bloomberg reports. Scanning the label with your smartphone will tell you whether the chicken roamed free and ate healthily.

The technology, which is the backbone of cryptocurrencies, is also being used by other retailers to establish products’ bona fides.

3. An African break-up?

Articles in global media saying a piece of East Africa would break off from the rest of the continent in the distant future are probably a little overblown. A giant crack opened up in Kenya’s Rift Valley and people assumed it was a sign of things to come. But others say the miles-long fissure that sliced through roads and homes was caused by heavy rains washing away loose soil, nothing more. It may be a little early to tell. Even if the land were to split, it would only happen in tens of millions of years.